Charlie99
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When ambling slowly along a reef in viz >50', then 20' buddy separation is very reasonable. When doing a high speed transit or swim, then following 5' behind your buddy is way too much.TyTy:I have seen some REALLY experienced divers buddy up and then seen them 10, 15, 20 feet away from eachother, go on oposite sides of a coral formation from eachother, unless they have ESP they were not communicating or aware of jack.
When poking around a reef looking around for interesting stuff, sweeping the reef at 20 or 30' buddy distance is very effective and still allows excellent buddy awareness and support. As for being on opposite side of a coral head -- I often do that. After a while you get used to your buddy's breathing pattern and bubbles are still visible. We also don't do this without one or the other signalling intentions.
How to tell if you and your buddy have good buddy awareness
What happens when one diver suddenly stops can tell a lot about buddy awareness. A diver continuing to swim on out of visibility obviously doesn't have good buddy awareness.
On a more positive note, if you show heightened interest in what's under a a ledge or in some nook, and your buddy is right there checking out what you found, then you know he has good buddy awareness.
A good buddy that is leading will give enough hints and direction to the rest of the team that they aren't forced to follow in his wake. Side by side swimming makes good buddy awareness much easier. A good leader makes swimming side by side natural and easy.